The invention relates to an electronic short messaging method and means, suitable, for example, for advertising. In particular the invention relates to an electronic advertising method including a collect calling feature, where minimal initiative is required from the consumer. Some embodiments of the invention may also be applied to an electronic sales method. The invention may be also applied for normal short messaging.
In the related art, electronic advertising methods advertisements are typically delivered by email or SMS messages. Emails may contain hyperlinks to advertising sites. SMS messages may contain telephone numbers of advertisers.
The related art has several disadvantages. The response to both types of advertisements requires active participation from the consumer. A hyperlink needs to be identified and clicked. A telephone number needs to be entered to a mobile station by copying it from the SMS message or by entering it manually. The SMS advertiser typically wants to be contacted by telephone, because the user holds a telephone. The email advertiser wants the user to visit a URL address, because the user is using a computer.
The purpose of the invention is to remove the aforementioned disadvantages. The invention requires zero initiative from the user to respond to a short message or an advertisement. Whether the advertisement is communicated by SMS or email makes no difference to the referral.